RNIB Scotland

RNIB Scotland support children and adults with sight loss to live full and independent lives where possible. Giving educational support, employment advice and support, emotional support and counselling, leisure and training opportunities and audio and giant print books and magazines.

With a vision to create a world where people who are blind or partially sighted enjoy the same rights, opportunities and quality of life as people who are fully sighted, the charity offers a wide range of services to blind a partially sighted people including:

Education and employment advice, guidance and practical support

Benefits and welfare rights advice, guidance and practical support

Advice, guidance and support at the point of diagnosis

Emotional support and counselling

Social, leisure and training opportunities

Audio and giant print books

The funding from Crerar Trust will help to deliver 16 peer support and information sharing programmes to newly diagnosed blind and partially sighted people. Ross Macfadyen, Director of RNIB Scotland said "We are extremely grateful to the Crerar Trust for this very generous support towards our work. Our Looking Forward programme gives people the reassurance they need to come to terms with sight loss and the confidence to find their lives again, knowing they are not alone. But we couldn't do any of this without the support of donations and legacies from bodies and individuals that share our aims."

In partnership with a number of organisations, six programmes will be delivered annually in Edinburgh and The Lothians, five in Tayside and Five in Ayrshire. Each programme will last four weeks and is called ‘Looking Forward’, with around 100 people with sight loss plus family members/friends benefiting each year.

The project will be managed across Scotland by a part-time Looking Forward Co-ordinator with support from trained volunteers. The purpose of the programme is to provide people with as much knowledge and information as possible about the support available for people with sight loss both locally and nationally following diagnosis of visual impairment.

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